I live about three-quarters of a mile away from the main Penn State campus, University Park, and there has definitely been a change of atmosphere ever since the indictment of Jerry Sandusky. The emotions were varied from anger to apathy but I’m sure most of the faculty and student body were generally upset. Initially, I tried to stay away from reading or getting into what was being reported in the news. However, the amount of involvement by students increased everyday since Sandusky’s indictment and certainly peaked after the board of trustees meeting on Wednesday.

I’m sure you know what happened that night but I can say this with confidence: the way certain Penn State students acted that night is, without a doubt, not an accurate representation of this school’s student body and spirit. Of course the majority of Penn Staters were upset about the firing of Joe Pa, but a riot was the last thing this school needed at a time like this. In defense, to my knowledge, there were only around 2,000 out of the 45,000 students who were out on the streets and only a small handful who participated in destructive acts. Obviously that doesn’t excuse the way we acted that night and it is probably one of the things a lot of students believe should never had happened.

The media, which I’m sure you have gathered a lot of information from, is probably one of the least favored groups of people around campus as of right now. Ever since Sandusky’s indictment, they have been all around campus soliciting interviews from students. I’m perfectly fine with news journalism and I find it very important to our society, but they have been handling this situation very poorly. I feel that they have been unfairly representing our school, faculty, and the story in general. It also seems very odd to me as Joe Pa has gotten a lot more attention than Sandusky in my eyes. I might even go as far to say that the media is just using the scandal to generate viewers and they will do anything to make this seem as exciting as possible.

One of the most notable examples of this was the questionable ESPN coverage of this story. Most of the camera crews on Wednesday night reported to ESPN and could have been arguably instigating the riot to escalate over the night. The camera crews were in clear view to incite abnormal behavior from the college students and some would argue that it was ESPN’s agenda to show behavior that would lead to an impression of an irresponsible school.

Regardless of my opinions and observations, the media and our reaction has contributed to unsavory dispositions. I’d first like to defend the Second Mile. I am aware that it was founded by Jerry Sandusky but I believe their reputation was unfairly tarnished during this ordeal. I am sure that the employees and supporters of the Second Mile are disappointed in Sandusky’s actions and I am positive that they never intended to turn the Second Mile into a system to ‘feed’ Sandusky children. The idea that the Second Mile was some well concealed program to do such things for Sandusky is absolutely ridiculous and, unfortunately, is believed by some people.

Secondly, I’d like to defend Penn State. I’m sure there are a lot of people out there who believe we support what Sandusky has done and those who have covered for them based on what they have seen on the news lately. That is simply untrue and there are many people at Penn State who still believe in integrity and morals. The trial for Sandusky still has not occured and I know for a fact that the people who are not directly involved with the case have incomplete information. I bring this statement up because I feel that there are many who are throwing around baseless accusations and assumptions off of rumors that have been reported by the media or rumors that they have heard.

So far I have spoken only about myself, but I believe I can say a few things for all of us at Penn State:
We are deeply offended and disheartened by this whole ordeal.
We all wish to give our support to the victims of these crimes.
We do NOT condone any form of child abuse.
We all strive to become better people with values and moral standards.

We are Penn State.